Ergo Propter Hoc
by Malana
Summary: Cordelia has a vision that leads to the White House, love, and a whole lot of trouble.
1. Prologue

"After it, therefore because of it. It means one thing follows the other, therefore it was caused by the 

other, but it's not always true. In fact, it's hardly ever true."

-President Bartlet, TWW, 1.2 "Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc

Pairing: Cordy/Toby

Rating: PG-13 (for now)

Disclaimer: I don't own any of them. Don't sue

Summary: Cordelia has a vision that leads her to The White House, love, and a whole lot of trouble.

Spoilers: Angel: Let's see, pre-season 4, both nothing specific. The West Wing: After the election, but Sam is still around. 

Distribution: want iit, take it, just tell me

Feedback: Please.

Note: I'm taking some liberties with how Cordelia's visions work in this story.

Note: The prologue is kind of short, but more parts should be coming soon.

Cordelia Chase sat at her desk in the lobby of the Hyperion. She sighed. The phones hadn't rung all day. She was thankful that she didn't get paid per client. The fact was they had pretty much been dead for the past three weeks. It was kind of nice, not having any life or death situations to face. But she was bored. She just wanted something to happen.

Then it did.

Cordelia grabbed her head in pain as a vision overtook her. It was even worse than usual. She fell from her chair as images flashed before her eyes. Distantly she could her voices calling her name.

When she came out of it she was on the floor, Wesley's arms encircling her, keeping her upright. 

Angel hovered over them, worry written on his face.

"Cordy, are you all right?" Angel asked. "What did you see?"

Cordelia held a hand to her head, wincing slightly. Her head was killing her.

"Here, take these." Cordelia looked up to see Gunn had entered the room. He held out a glass of water and a couple of aspirin. Cordelia smiled her thanks and took them gratefully. She grimaced as she swallowed the pills, chasing them down with a gulp of water. The others remained silent, waiting for Cordelia to recover enough to speak.

In a few moments that pain had lessen enough that she felt like she could speak without her head exploding. She allowed Wesley to help her off of the floor and into a chair.

"There was a party" Cordelia began. "It was really fancy, tuxedos, ball gowns, that kind of thing. I didn't see the whole building, just the one room, but I'm sure it was in some sort of mansion. There was a guy....He went outside for some reason. He got hit by some sort of energy beam and collapsed." Cordelia paused for a moment, thinking of how to describe what had happened next. "Then the vision got really weird. The images paused, then, like, ran in reverse for a few seconds. Then suddenly it was outside of a bar, and this same guy, he was lying on the sidewalk. There were people crowded around him. It looked like he had been shot in the chest."

Wesley frowned. "That kind of thing has never happened in a vision before, has it?"

Cordelia shook her head. "No. The vision, it was even more painful than usual. It was just so strange." An idea struck her, "Do you think it could have been, like, two alternate versions of what could happen?"

"It's possible," Wesley affirmed. "But there's no real way to be sure, I mean, we know precious little about your normal visions."

"Shouldn't we be trying to figure out when and where whatever this is, is going to happen? What did this guy look like?" Gunn asked, pacing the room.

"Gunn's right. While we should figure out what the vision means, we also need to focus on helping this guy. Did anything in the vision seem familiar? Was there anything that you recognized?" asked Angel.

There was silence for a moment while Cordelia thought back to what she had seen. "Yeah," she said slowly. "The guy. He seemed really familiar. I'm not sure, but I could swear that I've seen him before. I just can't remember where."

Suddenly Cordelia sat bolt upright. She quickly got to her feet, and headed across the room. She grabbed a newspaper off a table and rushed back with it, pointing to a picture on the front page. "It was this guy. This guy right here."

Angel grabbed the paper from Cordelia. Wesley and Gunn looked over his shoulder. They looked up at Cordelia in surprise.

"Cordy," Angel said, an odd tone in his voice. "This guy, he works at the White House."


	2. Chapter 1

"After it, therefore because of it. It means one thing follows the other, therefore it was caused by the 

other, but it's not always true. In fact, it's hardly ever true."

-President Bartlet, TWW, 1.2 "Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc

Pairing: Cordy/Toby?

Rating: PG-13 (for now)

Disclaimer: I don't own any of them. Don't sue

Summary: Cordelia has a vision that leads her to The White House, love, and a whole lot of trouble.

Spoilers: Angel: Let's see, pre season 4, both nothing specific. The West Wing: After the election, 

but Sam is still around.

Distribution: TTH, Crossed Hearts. Anyone else just ask.

Feedback: Please.

"The First Lady's birthday party." Cordelia's voice was triumphant.

Angel hurried over. He stood behind her, looking at the computer screen. "You're sure?" he asked.

Cordelia nodded, "It makes sense, it's the next party at the White House. It's on Saturday."

"So we have a week."

"We're going to need it. I mean, this isn't just a bar, or something. This is the White House. We can't just walk into the First Lady's birthday party." Cordelia shook her head. "I mean, do you have any idea what kind of security those kind of things involve. God, why did the Powers give me this vision, if we can't do anything about it?"

Angel placed a hand on Cordelia's' shoulder. "Cordelia, calm down. We'll figure this out. If you had the vision, then it's for a reason. There has to be something we can do."

There was silence for a moment, then Wesley spoke up from the desk where he had been sitting, "Exactly how good of a hacker is Ms. Rosenberg?"

Cordelia and Angel both looked at him in surprise,

"You aren't serious," Cordelia exclaimed.

"Wesley, even if Willow is good enough to do something like that, we're not talking about hacking into coroner reports here. This is the federal government. Do you have any idea how much trouble she would get in?" Angel crossed his arms, "We can't ask her to put herself it that situation."

"Well, there must be something that we can do. We can't just let this guy die." Cordelia stood and began pacing the room. "The Powers wouldn't have given me the vision if we could do anything about it."

"The Council." Wesley stated simply.

"What?" Cordelia asked. "You mean the Watcher's Council. You mean the guys who fired you for letting one slayer go all evil, and for being totally unable to control the good one?"

Wesley absently removed his glasses, and began polishing them on his shirt, "Yes, thank you, Cordelia. That is, in fact, exactly what I was talking about. I do still have some connections in the Council. For a situation like this, I'm sure I could get their insistence."

"But do you think they could actually do something like this?" Angel asked.

"I do. The Council does have a bit on influence on the government, not just the British government either. I think they would be able to go through the right channels to get us into the party."

Angel nodded, "All right. Check your connections. But two people is a little less conspicuous than three. We could work our a back story of Cordelia being my date. Wesley, I want you staying here with the others. Something might happen in LA while we're gone."

"I'll get on this right away." Wesley went back to his desk and picked up his phone.

"Cordelia, we should start researching what you saw in your vision. It was different than usual, that has to mean something. I also want to know what this energy beam you saw could be."

"Okay," Cordy agreed. "Let's hit the books."


	3. Chapter 2

WARNING: Okay, I've decided that this one is going to get angsty. Really angsty. It won't happen for a while, but it is going to happen. There might even be character death. So, if youÕre not up for that sort of thing, you might want to get out now 

NOTE: For the purposes of this fic, the Faith storyline from season 1 never happened.

"Thank you again for coming, Willow."

"Sure thing, Angel."

Angel and Willow sat on the floor in the middle of the Hyperion Lobby. A circle of black sand surrounded them. There was a small clay bowl between them, along with a few bunches of herbs.

"You're sure this is going to work?" Angel asked, a tad nervously.

"Theoretically."

Angel raised his eyebrows, "Care to elaborate on that?"

"Well, theoretically, the spell will temporarily make your skin feel warm to the touch, and will give you a reflection." Willow bit her lip and looked at the floor. "But, there is a slight chance it could make you go *poof*."

"Poof?!"

"You know, poof, all dusty like."

Angel shot to his feet. "You didn't say anything about this before. I think I would remember if you had mentioned on the phone that there was a chance that this might kill me."

Willow rolled her eyes. "Angel, please sit down. It's a very small chance. I'm much better at magic than I use to be. I've just never done this particular spell before, and if I do it incorrectly, it could...."

"Make me go poof?"

"Yeah," Willow shrugged. "But that's not going to happen, so sit your broody self down, and let me make you a little less vampirey."

"All right. If you're really that confident." Angel lowered himself to the floor. "But if you dust me, you're going to have to deal with a really pissed off Cordelia," he added with a wry smile.

"Okay. Let's get started"

*Meanwhile*

"Cordelia, you do realize that you're only going to be gone for a few days, right?" Wesley stood by Cordelia's bed staring at the growing pile of clothes she threw in her suitcase.

Cordelia turned to face Wesley, her hands on her hips. "Listen, Mister, a girl has to be prepared for all occasions. Who knows where all Angel and I are going to have to go while we're in DC. Besides, it's just the one suitcase and then my dress." Cordelia nodded toward the evening gown that hung on the back of her bedroom door.

"At least something good came out of the vision. I got to go dress shopping with Angel's credit card."

"Yes, yes. It's a pity you don't have visions of important people dying more often."

Cordelia narrowed her eyes. "Wes, what are you doing here anyway?"

"Angel wanted me to make sure you didn't pack too much. I guess he was a little over-confident in my abilities"

"So, just to double check, everything is arranged?" Cordelia asked.

"Yes. He's on the guest list as Angel O'Conner. You'll be going as his date. Thanks to Willow, Angel got through the background check. According to what the Council set up, Angel is a large, formerly anonymous contributor to the Democratic party, which is how he got on the invite list."

"You know," Cordelia mused, "it's really kind of frightening that the Watcher's Council was able to do all this. I mean, they have there fingers in just about everything, don't they."

"I'm just thankful that they were willing to help us out. It took quite a bit of convincing to get them to agree. They were hardly thrilled to help out a fired watcher and a vampire. Luckily Giles and I still have some friends there."

Wesley sighed and sat on the edge of Cordelia's beg. "I'm still not entirely sure how good of an idea this is. I mean, you and Angel in the White House....I fear it could lead to a lot of trouble."

"God, Wesley, worry much?" Cordelia shut her suitcase and flashed her friend a smile. "Relax, everything is going to work out just fine."

TBC


	4. Chapter 3

Cordelia and Wesley walked into the lobby of the Hyperion. Angel stood

at Cordelia's desk, looking through a newspaper.

"Has Miss Rosenberg left already?" Wesley asked.

Angel nodded, "She had to get back to Sunnydale. They have something

going on there."

"So, the spell," Cordelia's tone was anxious, "did it work?" She

stepped forward and grabbed Angel's hand. "You're warm!" she exclaimed.

Angel pulled his hand free and stepped away. "Yeah, warm"

Cordelia frowned. "What's with all the brooding. Shouldn't you be

excited. I mean, how long has it been since you could see your reflection

in a mirror?"

Angel was quiet for a long moment. It actually hadn't been that long

since that day he had spent as a human, the day he had spent with Buffy. But

he was the only one who remembered that. As wonderful as the memory was, he

almost wished he didn't have it. It was just too painful.

"I'm fine, Cordelia," Angel finally said. "I just don't want to get used

to this. It isn't going to last. It's just for the mission."

"You're sure you'll be all right with this, Angel?" Wesley asked,

concerned.

Angel shook his head. "I'm fine. Let's drop it. Cordelia, we have a

flight to catch." It was situation like this that made Angel glad he had

money. Getting last minute flight from L.A. to DC hadn't been cheap.

Things were further complicated by the fact that he couldn't be outside at

all during sunlight.

"My suitcase is in Wesley's car. Do you have your tux?" Cordelia asked.

Angel grabbed a garment bag that had been hanging on one of the doors.

"Right here. Let's go."

Two hours later and Cordelia and Angel were in the plane, headed toward

Washington.

"I can't believe we're headed to DC to visit the White House," Cordelia

exclaimed. "This is so cool."

Angel just shook his head. "Cordelia, remember why we're going, okay?

This isn't a fun trip, this is business."

Cordelia rolled her eyes, "Everything you do is business. You need to

relax. There's no reason why we can't enjoy ourselves while we're there.

After all, we're going to the First Lady's birthday party. It is going to

be amazing. The people, the food, the music. There was a spread on her party

last year in Vanity Fair. It sounded incredible."

"I don't know, shouldn't a birthday party be with people you know and

love, and not some guy you never met who just happened to give a lot of

money to your husband's political party?"

"Or in your case a guy pretending to be a guy who just happened to give

a lot of money," Cordelia said with a grin.

"I don't like parties," Angel said, frowning.

"Yes, Angel. You've made that quite evident in the past. But don't worry

about it. Even if there is dancing, it will be waltzes and that kind of

thing. You must have learned to do that at some point in the years you were

traveling around killing people."

"I can dance. I just don't like doing it. I actually learned how when I

was human. And Darla liked balls. She thought that people tasted better in

formal wear."

Cordelia wrinkled her nose, but decided not to comment. In her years of

knowing Angel she had become rather immune to such statements. "This is

going to be hard, you realize that, right?"

"I know, Cordy."

"I mean, this is the White House. We're actually going to have to be

subtle. Security is kind of an issue here. You can't take down the entire

Secret Service."

"I might be able to."

Cordelia shot him a look. "Yeah, Angel. That sounds like a great way

to prove your manhood. Try to take on the best armed guards in the world.

That wouldn't cause any problems at all."

"Calm down," Angel said, a small smile on his lips, "I was just joking."

"You're doing that more often now."

"Doing what?" Angel asked.

"Joking." Cordelia paused for a moment, "It's nice."

Silence fell between them. They had been growing closer lately.

Cordelia thought of Angel as her best friend. But there were moments of

awkwardness between them, moments when both were wondering if they were

getting too close.

"Do you really think we can pull this off?" Angel asked, finally

breaking the silence.

"I don't know. If it doesn't we'll be dead or wind up spending some

time in jail. That's always the sign of a good plan."

"You mean YOU'LL end up in jail. I can run fast, and bullets won't kill

me."

Cordelia swatted Angel on the arm. "Hey! You can't abandon me. You're a

champion. Besides, I'm your seer, and you need me."

Angel looked at her, his face becoming serious. "Yeah. I really do."

Cordelia smiled, touched at his words. She tried to think of a way to

response, but couldn't.

"You should try to get some sleep," Angel suggested. "We're going to be

pretty busy tomorrow. I want to spend the day going over strategy, things

like that. We're going to have to get our story all straightened out."

"You are talking to an actress, you know. I happen to be very good."

Cordelia raised an eyebrow in challenge.

"Of course you are, now get some sleep."

MEANWHILE

"The president is writing his own toast?" CJ Cregg paced her office,

worry evident on her face.

"Yes." Toby Ziegler didn't try to hide his displeasure over the

situation.

"And he hasn't asked for your help at all? Or Sam's?"

"In fact he has refused my help multiple times."

"This could turn out badly."

"Yes, but last time I volunteered my help he threatened to have the

secret service throw me out of the room, so I'm not going to push the issue

anymore."

"Well, as long as he doesn't tell the ditch-digger story..."

"One can only hope," Toby agreed, rubbing his temples.

"You really should write something for him. Just as a back-up speech."

"I already have. Sam and I wrote one a week ago. But you know him.

He's not going to use it. He's really insistent about this sort of thing."

CJ just shook her head. "This could really be bad."

Just then there was a knock on the door, and Josh Lyman stuck his head

in. "Oh, good. You're both still here." Josh leaned against the door frame.

"Toby, I want you to sit in on my meeting tomorrow."

"Which one?"

"The education bill."

Toby sighed, "Josh."

"Come on, Toby."

"I'll just wind up yelling."

"You always wind up yelling," CJ interjected.

"Well, they always say something stupid."

"I still want you there." Josh remained firm.

"Is there a particular reason you feel the need to torture me?"

"Toby."

"Fine. I'll be there."

"Great. I'm headed home, but I'll see you guys in the morning."

"I'm headed out too," CJ said. "I'll walk with you, just let me pack up

some stuff."

Toby stood up, "I'm going back to my office."

"Sam tells me that the President is writing his own toast." Josh

couldn't keep the grin off his face.

"Don't remind me."

"It shouldn't be too bad," Josh said. "Just make sure he doesn't tell

the ditch-digger story."

TBC


End file.
